Omaha daily bee., 1887-06-20
FIGHTING STORM SEWERAGE.
A Queer Lincoln Combination Against a
Much Needed Protection,
THE STATE JOURNAL IN IT..
Arrangements For Editors Day at
the Crete Assembly CompIeted-A
New Rock Island Linc-Capital
City Ne ws,

lFRoM THE BEES LINCOLN BUREAU
The city council has called an election
to vote upon issuing $780, 900 in bonds for
the construction Of storm water sewer.
age in the business center of the city. In
the call for this election the city council
was unanimous, and in preparing for {,
storm water sewerage they were but fol-
lowing in the wake of older cities that
have successfully followed the plan. The
opposition TO this plan Of protection to
the business center Of the city showed
itself in the columns of the Journal yes
terday in a petition which goes before
the city council tonight, and 1t Is no
more than proper that the animus in the
petition and that gave it birth should be
known to the citizens of Lincoln. To
any who have learned from the expert.
ence of older and more advanced cities
the fact that storm water sewerage is re-
quired needs no explanation. For fifteen
years the city of Lincoln has had an ef-
fort in force to dispose of storm water
through sewerage, and the city is liable
for damages from the wretched no-sys-
tym practically that the city has long
since outgrown. This agitation against
protecting the business center comes di-
rect, to be explicit, from the asphalt paw
ing lobby, engineered by a law firm and
the State journal. The question of the
worth of asphalt versus cedar blocks is
not the question now, but because
over 50 per cent of the prop
erty holders in the second paving
Il - Ii I~.l
their record to that effect in the city
clerks office, the attorneys for the asphalt
company, aided by the Journal. propose
to get IN their revenge on the business
men who preferred. blocks by defeating
the storm water sewerage. In fact, 1t
comes to the BEE direct from two of the
most responsible citizens in Lincoln that
the attorneys for the asphalt company
demanded an exchange, that the people
should change to asphalt in consideration
of their not fighting storm water sewer
age. This proposition was repudiated,
and hence the fight. The spectacle of
the Journal in the controversy is admir-
able. That paper started out on the
paving question in favor Of cedar blocks,
but almost at the identical time that the
asphalt company retained attorneys in
the city, the journal company, by a SIM
pie twist of the wrist, became converted
to asphalt. just what it cost to turn the
journal around is conjecture that every
one can conclude as they see fit, but the
change was made in the wink of an eye.
Again, the journal company had nothing
to say against sewer bonds until the
proposition of the asphalt attorney to
trade support of bonds for support of
asphalt was rejected, and then. by the
pull Of the string, the Journal opposes
the storm water sewerage. The petition
to present to the council against the COM
ing election contains the names of seven
employees OF the Journal company, the
proprietors themselves dodging putting
themselves on paper, rs usual. AS to
the necessity of storm water sewerage,
it is illustrated in the work on the new
Burr block, that has been detained by
storms flooding the foundation. month
at least, and every day for three weeks
the flow of surface water into the cellar
has required the proprietors of the block
TO keep force of men at work to save
the foundation from ruin. The Burrs
have spent over $4,000 already in pro.
tecting their foundation work from the
damage for which the city is responsible,
and the claims for damages are on file in
the office of the city clerk. A few such
cases as this would eat up more than
thorough storm water sewerage will
cost. 1t might be interjected at this
point that the block erected by the as.
phalt attorneys is already projected by
storm water sewerage, and the statement
is made that they have gone to the eX-
tent of running their sanitary sewerage
into the storm water sewer, which is eX-
pressly prohibited.
There have been no feasible grounds
yet stated for the defeat of system of
sewerage as contemplated. One party
expresses himself as opposed to it be-
cause the bonds would exhaust the limit
allowed to be issued, and stop the con-
struction of sanitary sewerage. This is
entirely wrong, as the surface water sew
crage is entirely separate and distinct in
age, which would not be interfered with in
sns sns ts's' Of bonsss '9f Tas passsfa' ppsso mny
consider 1t wise to leave the
business center of the city unprotected
from surface water, and have constant
claims against the city for damages, but
1t is wise to remember that the entire city
and If there are no greater objections to
surface sewerage than those ere.
ated by the paid attorneys Of
paving company. the ques-
ton is worth little more considera.
tiOn than men who sign petitions have
given it. The journal, however, ought
to take its present course if it expects to
earn fee.
EDITORS DAY AT CRETE
+. j. Foss, president of the Crete
Chautauqua assembly, has, at the re-
quest of the executive committee of the
state press association, selected Thurs.
day, July 7, as editors day at the assem-
bly,, the date Immediately following law
yers' day. At $3.50 p. m. of that day
Judge Goodwin, editor of the Salt Lake
Tribune. will deliver the address to the
association, all trains for the day arriv.
ing at Crete before that time. 1t is pro
posed in the evening to have reunion
and business meeting of the association
at the new editors building, and a pro
gramme will be arranged for the even
ing. This programme can be carrleC
out in full before the train leaves in the
night for the west, giving all who attenC
and cannot stay longer to participate II
nj! exercises between trains. It is un
necessary to state that the speech O
Judge Goodwin will be worth the hearing
of ALL no matter whether new wspaper meT
or not, and the evening programme viii
be made interesting. The building il
course of erection by the state press aSso
citation is two stories in height, will
upper and lower perches surrounding tn,
entire building The windows all reacl